Just like a family starting out, the parents at Northern Virginia Friends School in Oakton decided to make some of their own traditions. One of them was an International Day at the new school, in which the school's 25 students were divided into four groups and sent to different rooms to learn about the cultures of Pakistan, South Africa, Korea and Scotland. The parents decided to pick those countries because that's where some of them were from.
"It's a wonderful way for the children to be exposed to a variety of cultures," said Phyllis Harris of Reston, a parent, who suggested the event at the school's first-ever PTA meeting in September. "I thought it'd be a great tradition to start here."
Parents like Harris hope International Day will be the first of many such traditions, as the school marks its first year in existence. Although the idea for a Friends school in Northern Virginia has existed for almost a decade, the Northern Virginia Friends School (NVFS) for elementary-school-age children opened its doors only in September 2003.
Since then, the teachers, administrators, parents and students have learned by trial and error how to set roots and develop into a viable educational community.
"I think it's turned out as more wonderful than I hoped and more exhausting than I had thought," said NVFS director Barbara Wille.
MANY OF the school's inaugural families came to Northern Virginia from areas of the East Coast, where Friends (Quaker) schools were plentiful. They see NVFS as filling a need for families who want a Friends education. The nearest Friends school in Virginia is Thornton Friends School in Alexandria; the nearest school for elementary-school-age children is in Charlottesville.
The impetus to start a Friends school began because of one such parent seeking a school for her son. When Laurie Wilner moved to Herndon from southern New Jersey over a decade ago, she assumed her son would go to a Quaker school. Wilner wanted a Quaker education for her son because she liked its focus on spiritual growth and its approach to conflict and disagreements.
"That just hit me as so unusual," said Wilner, who now lives in Bethesda, of the lack of Quaker schools in the area.
The idea gnawed at her so much that she approached her congregation, the Langley Hill Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends in McLean, to determine whether her idea had merit. She underwent a "clearness committee process," in which the group attempts to discern whether to proceed.
The group agreed to the idea, and a group, which included several educators, was established to conduct a feasibility study. The study would look at the possible organizational structure of the school and its relationship with the Friends Meeting.
After the process and the feasibility study, which took about three years, the group contacted Realtors and sent out letters to churches to find a site for the school. They found a match with the Church of the Brethren, but traffic concerns later disqualified that possibility.
THE GROUP then contacted the Unity Church of Fairfax, which itself was undergoing a building renovation. They both agreed to the church’s hosting the school in its new building, at 2854 Hunter Mill Road in Oakton.
"It was like a gift from heaven, that match for both communities," Wilner said.
While potential traffic congestion due to the busy intersection at Hunter Mill Road and Chain Bridge Road was an issue, the widening of Hunter Mill due to the church's expansion and the creation of the Hearthstone development south of the church eased those concerns.
When the school finally opened its doors on Sept. 25, 2003, students signed up from pre-kindergarten through grade three. NVFS plans to add a grade each year until it reaches sixth grade.
Throughout the year, the school has learned how to use the space in creative ways, how to work with the church, and how to utilize fully its teachers and staff. The educators received curriculum materials and advice from surrounding Quaker schools.
"It's been an extraordinary year. I have such admiration for the founding families who have taken on this adventure with us," said Wille, who like Wilner, was searching for a Quaker school for her son. He attends the school now. "I've learned from every teacher and every single family on what the school should be," she said.
As the school continues to establish itself, NVFS hopes enrollment and involvement with the local community will only increase.
"It's amazing. I think we were pretty teary-eyed when the first kids showed up," said Wilner. "The first class especially is filled with truly amazing people."
Harris agreed. "Our school has really become a family in the first year," she said.